Hiram Maxim
That line about European killing sounds bogus, but it is real. See:
- In 1883 a friend told him, "Hang your electricity. If you want to make your fortune, invent something to help these fool Europeans kill each other more quickly!"
- Maxim took the advice. By 1885 he'd invented the first single-barrel machine gun. This "Maxim Gun" fired 666 rounds a minute, and it changed warfare.
Copied from here.[1] Not a joke. RSchlafly 18:13, 29 March 2007 (EDT)
It was the first automatic weapon, but crank and lever operated single-barreled rapid fired weapons were developed at about the same time as the Gatling.Keysersoze 00:09, 1 July 2010 (EDT)